Chapter 23

The doorbell rang early the next morning.

Su Zhe finally woke up groggily and picked up his phone from the bedside. It was only 6 a.m. He had been getting up late these days, and his biological clock had adjusted accordingly. Unlike when he used to work, he no longer needed to wake up early every day. Moreover, he had stayed up late playing with the baby the night before, so his head was still a bit dizzy when he got up.

The doorbell continued to ring at a steady pace, not hurriedly. Su Zhe patted his head to clear his mind, then got up and went to open the door. In the living room, the sulcata tortoise was still sleeping on its territory, undisturbed by the doorbell. The blue-and-gold macaws, on the other hand, were flying around the room nimbly. Su Zhe had input 10 points of divine power into each macaw the night before, and now each one was nearly half a meter long. The living room was starting to feel a bit cramped for them.

Su Zhe opened the door, and An Xin stood there, looking fresh and lively. He quickly let her in and explained, "Sorry, I didn't expect you to come so early." In fact, he had completely forgotten that he had hired a nanny the day before until he saw An Xin.

An Xin smiled faintly and said, "It's fine, I came a bit early. Is there anything you need me to do?"

Su Zhe touched his nose and said, "I can't think of anything right now. You can do whatever you like." He noticed An Xin was startled by the sulcata tortoise and quickly explained, "Don't worry, my pets won't attack people. They're very friendly. And since my job is related to pets, you don't need to be afraid of any animals you see in the house."

An Xin calmed down. She had indeed been startled, especially by the sulcata tortoise, which looked quite intimidating even when it was lying still.

"I'm going to wash my face. You can do whatever you like. If you're tired, you can go upstairs and rest. The rooms downstairs are where I and the baby live, and there are three rooms upstairs you can choose from." An Xin's face was a bit pale, and her eyes were slightly red. Su Zhe thought it was because she had woken up too early, so he planned to let her rest first.

When signing the contract the day before, Su Zhe had known that An Xin's home was far away, and it took at least an hour by bus. From her appearance, he could tell that An Xin was a frugal person, and since she needed money so badly, she probably wouldn't have taken a taxi. Therefore, she must have woken up very early to get here so early.

After saying this, Su Zhe went to the bathroom.

After Su Zhe left, An Xin cautiously observed the sulcata tortoise and the blue-and-gold macaws, making sure they didn't show any signs of aggression before carefully stepping into the kitchen and putting on an apron.

By the time Su Zhe finished washing up and came out, he could already smell the aroma of rice porridge. The light scent easily whetted his appetite.

"Smells good, does the baby want to eat?" The baby stood at the door of the room, still rubbing his eyes, but his little nose was twitching, trying to catch the scent. The baby usually wouldn't wake up so early, especially after staying up late the night before. The baby must have been woken up by the smell.

Amused, Su Zhe took the baby to the bathroom to wash up. This time, the baby was particularly quick, unlike the usual dragging and playing around with Su Zhe, which would take a long time.

Then Su Zhe got the bowls and chopsticks and sat down at the table with the baby. An Xin brought the cooked porridge to the table and served a bowl for Su Zhe and the baby.

Su Zhe couldn't wait to try the porridge, which was neither too thin nor too thick, just right, and it made his appetite soar.

The baby took a bite and clapped his hands, saying, "The baby loves to eat century egg porridge. The baby wants to eat it every day."

"Yesterday, when we went out to eat, you said the baby hated century egg porridge," Su Zhe pointed out without mercy.

"Brother is mean. The baby doesn't like the century egg porridge outside because it's not good," the baby quickly explained.

An Xin smiled, relieved to see that Su Zhe and the baby enjoyed the porridge. She then walked away and started tidying up the house.

"You don't have to rush. Have something to eat first. I can see you came so early, you probably didn't have breakfast," Su Zhe said to An Xin.

An Xin didn't turn around and said, "It's fine, you eat first. I'm not hungry. I'll eat later." Then she continued to clean the room.

After finishing his meal, Su Zhe went to his room to change clothes. He told the baby to stay at home and that he had some errands to run. He gave An Xin the spare key to the house and a thousand yuan, asking her to use it to buy groceries. "Let me know if you run out. I'm not picky about food, I eat anything, just not too spicy. You can ask the baby what he wants to eat."

Then he took the four golden-headed box turtles and went to the city's animal quarantine department.

At the animal quarantine department, Su Zhe had each golden-headed box turtle inspected. Although the process was complicated, all four turtles passed the inspection smoothly and received their quarantine certificates.

The validity of the quarantine certificate was short, only three days, but it was enough for Su Zhe.

After completing the quarantine certificates for the turtles, Su Zhe went to the airport. The night before, he had already booked a cargo space for the turtles. At the airport, he bought an airline box and placed the turtles inside.

Su Zhe took the turtles directly to the airport's cargo area and filled out the air waybill as instructed by the airport staff. He presented the quarantine certificates he had obtained earlier, affixed the labels, and paid the fees. The turtles were quickly inspected by the airport staff and taken to the oxygen cabin of the plane.

Su Zhe checked the time on his phone; the plane was scheduled to take off in more than three hours. He called the seller of the turtles, told him the flight number, and the approximate time the turtles would arrive at his airport, asking him not to forget to pick them up.

There was no point in staying at the airport, so after notifying the seller, he hung up and went home.